High School Football Notebook -- Staples missed some players, didn't miss a beat in big win

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WESTPORT -- Staples High School football head coach Marce Petroccio quickly and emphatically turned aside any ideas that his team got a "wake-up call" from St. Joseph in the Wreckers' 49-28 season-opening win Friday night under the first permanent lights at the school's stadium field.

"Not at all," Petroccio said Sunday night. "The bottom line is we had no (running back/defensive back) Nick (Kelly) and no (linebacker) Kevin (Kearney). Anyone without one of the best backs and one of the best defensive players around might struggle. We still put up 48 points, and gave up 21 points."

That last comment was not a typo, as the head coach noted that the Cadets reached the end zone for the final time against the Staples junior varsity.

Kelly is expected to return this week against Bridgeport Central, while Kearney is out indefinitely, according to Petroccio.

"I think the offensive line played great, and (junior quarterback) Jack Massie had a great game," Petroccio said. "But (senior) Zack Speranza and (junior) Patrick Lesch filled in (for Kelly) and played very well. (Wide receiver) James Frusciante is James Frusciante, and he had a terrific game, and Joey Zelkowitz was steady. He fumbled on the first play of the game, and battled back. Joey also played a great, great game on defense. After a while we were getting chunks running the ball."

On that side of the ball, the head coach cited senior lineman Jared Levi for his excellent play, and said senior Brian Book "did a fantastic job filling in for Kevin Kearney."

"I was impressed with St. Joe's, they really can throw the ball," Petroccio said. "(Quarterback Jordan Vazzano) puts the ball in spots where only the receiver can catch it. (Head coach) Joe (DellaVecchia) does a great job with quarterbacks."

One area that concerns Petroccio moving forward is kickoff coverage.

"I feel we have to do a better job covering kickoffs," Petroccio said. "(St. Joseph) averaged starting at the 44-yard line. We can't keep defending a 56-yard field. With that, we got some big stops early, and the defense played well."

• • •

The New Canaan High School football team scored six times in the first half -- three times in each of the first two quarters -- and cruised to the 42-16 opening-night victory over Bassick on Friday at Dunning Field.

Alternating their two first-string quarterbacks, both juniors -- Ted Bossidy and Nick Cascione -- played to their respective strengths, as each led multiple scoring drives for the Rams.

Cascione began the game under center and finished 14 of 20 passing for 141 yards, tossing scoring passes to junior Jack Gilio (first quarter) and junior wide receiver Michael DiCosmo (second quarter). Cascione also ran for a nine-yard touchdown.

Bossidy was every bit as efficient, completing eight of his 12 passes for 76 yards, and scored on runs of 23 (first quarter) and 14 (second quarter) among his 83 yards on the ground.

"I think, for a start, I like the way we performed," New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli said Sunday. "We played much better than I anticipated. I was very pleased with what I saw. The (offensive and defensive) lines graded out well. The offensive line did a pretty good job, and both quarterbacks played well."

Gilio led the receiving corps -- 11 Rams caught passes Friday -- in number or receptions, with four, for 30 yards and that touchdown, while senior wide receiver Ryan Minaglia was tops yardage-wise with 63 on three catches.

"(Senior wide receiver) Grady Lynch (three catches, 23 yards) played well, and Gilio had a good game," Marinelli said. "Defensively I thought we played well. It's a start."

The head coach cited junior linebacker Cole Harris, who returned an interception 42 yards for a score, and Lynch, who had a big hit, as having an impact on that side of the ball.

Harris, with nine total tackles, led a defensive unit that had 10 other players who collected at least three total tackles. Sophomore outside linebacker Zach Allen (five total tackles), and senior outside linebacker John Rhudy and sophomore defensive back Alex LaPolice (four apiece) were part of that group.

"I liked what I saw, but we're still a work in progress," Marinelli said.

• • •

AJ Albano, head coach of the Brien McMahon High School football team, said the time to celebrate the Senators' thrilling, last-minute 33-28 win over Fairfield Warde on Friday night at Jack Casagrande Field is over.

"I told the players to enjoy (the victory) Friday night, it was a special win," Albano said Sunday. "I think we did some good things, but there's a lot to correct. The defense has to play a complete 48 minutes. (That unit) played well in the first half, holding (the Mustangs) to six points while battling field position, but in the second half they gave up too many third downs, which led to too many points."

Albano pointed to the play of senior Andre Rodriguez -- who started at left tackle the last two years, but switched to the demanding center position for 2012 -- as exemplary in his debut.

"Andre played center and nose tackle, so he was in the trenches the whole game," Albano said. "This was his first game at center, and while there might have been one fumble caused by a bad snap, he played exceptionally well against their nose tackle. He also stopped the (Warde) run well."

Junior guard and inside linebacker Brice Muldoon, in his first season as a starter, also "played pretty well," according to Albano.

The screen pass that sophomore running back Trevon Forney turned into the winning, 79-yard scoring play with 46.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter was electrifying, but the head coach does not want his squad to wait for such outbursts.

"Offensively we grew up Friday," Albano said. "We had a 17-play drive, and I talked to my kids about it. "We can't rely on the big play, even though we have big-play threats. We have to put together 10-12-play drives, with no penalties. Now we have some experience under our belts. We have to worry about ourselves."

• • •

In the game story following Friday night's 16-6 victory for the Norwalk High School football team over Danbury at Sam Testa Field, a comment from head coach Sean Ireland went unexplained.

Ireland said it if it weren't for the muffed punt, the Bears "could have pitched a shutout." What he was referring to was senior wide receiver/defensive back Marc Lerebours, who called for a fair catch but was not given enough room to make the catch.

The ball hit Lerebours and was recovered by the Hatters at the Danbury 45-yard line.

Sophomore quarterback Anferny Ith then accounted for 55 of Danbury's 135 net total yards (25 rushing, 110 passing) for the game with three plays (two passes and a scramble run) in reaching the end zone.

"The offensive line played very good, especially because Danbury put nine guys in the box to stop the run a lot of the time," Ireland said Sunday. "If we made a little adjustment (senior running back) Tomar (Joseph) would have scored standing up from the 1-yard line (early in the fourth quarter when it was still 10-0). Like I said after the game, we were clicking when we could throw the ball. When we couldn't throw the ball, there were nine guys in the box."

Defensively, senior inside linebackers Lance Lauture and Andre Cork -- Cork flew into the backfield to nail Christopher Latham for a crucial safety early in the second quarter -- were acknowledged for their outstanding play against the run, and former soccer goalie Danny Jakob "had a great game at safety," according to Ireland.

On offense, Andy Lovo is back from a year hiatus to focus on lacrosse, and he made an impact taking direct snaps from center. Lovo picked up 21 yards on six attempts, and also caught a pass for 10 yards.

"Andy Lovo is running the ball out of the wildcat, and that's a normal package for us," Ireland said of plays that Norwalk did not show during the preseason. "He did a great job. We have to have a quarterback that can run the ball, and Andy is a little faster and a little stronger than (junior starter Jared Smith). Andy is our wildcat guy. He's a great athlete, and one of the better athletes in the school."

Ireland also cited the efforts of two-way lineman Tristan Opdahl and Lerebours as vital to success for the Bears.

"Tristan and Marc are the two most consistent guys we have," the head coach said. "Besides kickoff and kickoff return, I don't know if Tristan came off the field. On a warm, muggy night, that says a lot about his preparation and conditioning."

• • •

The Wilton High School football team went through some growing pains on Friday night at Kennedy Stadium, but came away on the positive side of an exciting 35-28 decision over Bridgeport Central.

While junior quarterback Brett Phillips was the statistical star, with a combined 223 yards passing and rushing, and three total touchdowns, it took a total team effort, according to head coach Bruce Cunningham.

"We got contributions from a lot of people," Cunningham said. "Six different receivers caught passes, and four different people carried the ball. As a group the offensive line was solid."

As the Hilltoppers came back from down 27-14 to take a 28-27 lead early in the fourth quarter, Cunningham laid out what he expected of his offense and defense. There were no guarantees with a largely untested squad, however.

"There was plenty of time and no need to panic," the head coach said. "I'd hoped they learned from the previous (year's team). After they came off the field when they gave up the lead, I told them all they have to do is get a field goal and we win it. No, they hadn't done it before, but they made a couple of plays. They put themselves in position."

Cunningham's pep talk was almost too good.

"They scored faster than I thought," he said with a laugh. "We got a response from the offense and the defense."

Defensive coordinator Dick Cerone, who called it "an awesome game to watch," lauded Phillips for his interception on defense -- the only turnover of the game -- junior cornerback Andrew Sakamoto for several pass breakups, including one in the end zone, a tackle for loss, and for "sniffing out a screen," tackle Danny Holland for his five tackles, including two sacks, and for "playing well up front," and middle linebacker Grif Bender for his five tackles and a quarterback pressure.

All was not rosy with the game film, however, according to Cerone.

"We did not tackle worth anything, even if the effort was there," Cerone said. "We didn't play well until the end. We got them to the point where they had to throw and made some plays. Give Central credit, they are a pretty good team."

"This was an extremely physical game, and both teams were hitting people," Cerone said. "We did OK aggression-wise. "Our kids were thrown into the fire, and they stepped up in a hurry. That's a direct reflection of their head coach, and I'm not that surprised they stepped up because (Cunningham) prepares them for these kinds of games."